Aussie Kaylee McKeown, “I’m Bored”…..Breaks A World Record

2024 AUSTRALIAN SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS

The 2024 Australian Short Course Championships began with a bang, as 23-year-old Olympic champion Kaylee McKeown fired off a new World Record of 54.56 in the women’s 100m backstroke.

Just weeks removed from her 100m back/200m back double gold in Paris, McKeown said post-race she was hungry for more competition and simply couldn’t sit still.

“I was going a bit stir crazy, sitting at home, so decided to jump back in two and a bit weeks ago, and just increasing the sessions,” the superstar told Swimming Australia.

“I don’t mean to toot my own horn but we’re doing some pretty incredible stuff at training,” she said.

McKeown’s individual medals in Paris pre-qualified her for the Short Course World Championships slated for December in Budapest, Hungary.

Whether or not she’s going is still undecided.

“I’ll see how I feel after World Cups (in October/November) … and see if I want to do World Short Course in December … but I’m not putting any pressure on myself.”

It’s significant to note that McKeown is now training under Janelle Pallister, mother of fellow Olympian Lani Pallister, now that Michael Bohl is taking a long-term coaching hiatus.

On the change-up, McKeown said, “Janelle’s been an absolute legend. She’s taken us on board and obviously she’s been under Bohl for a few years now, so she knows what she’s doing. Lani also produced a great swim tonight, so did a few other young swimmers.”

For her part, 22-year-old Pallister ripped a new lifetime best of 1:52.73 to win the women’s 200m free and score a roster slot for Budapest.

On the racing prospect, Pallister told Swimming Australia,“Budapest is just fun. I think it’s going to give me an opportunity to just enjoy racing, for the sake of racing without expectation. I just want to go and race, spend time with my friends, and kind of fall back in love with swimming.

“My campaign in Paris wasn’t one that I expected or one that anyone else expected. I don’t think anyone really anticipates Covid and pulling out of two individual events at your first Olympics. So that was pretty tough to deal with coming home.

“I felt a lot better tonight than I did this morning. I think this morning probably felt more rusty, because it’s the first race back from Paris,” she said.

“Somehow, I managed to pull short course together. I love short course racing, training not so much, too many turns for me, but  it’s always an absolute blast of a race.

“I just think it (Short Course) allows for a different energy system racing. You don’t get anywhere near as fatigued and I think with the aerobic base that I have, it’s probably easier to just turn and keep going, rather than swimming out longer.”

Additional Quotes

• Edward Sommerville on nailing a new Australian Record in the men’s 200m free (1:40.64) – “It was on the tables but it was never guaranteed. For me and my coaches, the goal was just to come here and swim fast … and a (national) record? Really … I shaved 4.33 seconds off my PB. It’s amazing.”
• Joshua Yong on hitting a new Australian Record in the men’s 100m breast (56.76) – “I took some time off, two or three weeks and just got back into it, so I feel like the form carries over from the Olympics and I wasn’t expecting to lose too much. I knew it was within range that I could potentially qualify but to actually see it happen is cool,” he said.
  • “Short Course has a special place in my heart. I got my first international medal in that 4x100m relay in Melbourne.
  • “My underwater skills are not exactly the best part of my races but I’m fortunate to work on my skills here to get them better for long course.
  • “Racing those big names that I watched on TV was a great experience from Paris. But also gaining more exposure to the international scene and even experiencing a podium … I just want more of it”
  • “Personally, I didn’t think I was a very emotional person but my experience at the Olympics definitely showed that there was a lot of emotion and you have to manage all of that.”